


Web of Nightmares

by de_klaire



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Nightmares, Peter Parker Has Issues, Peter Parker Has Nightmares, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker has PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Natasha Romanov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-01 19:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19183897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/de_klaire/pseuds/de_klaire
Summary: When Peter doesn't want to sleep on a mission, Natasha has to figure out why.-Written to fill 'character ashamed to sleep because of nightmares' on whim bingo sheet





	Web of Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short one! First fic I've written in quite a while, so please be kind!

It shouldn't have been a big deal, really. The mission was supposed to be quick one- an hour at the most. But things were never simple for Peter.

   "I'll take first watch." Peter's eyes snapped up at Natasha's words. Finally wandering from where they were glancing over his webshooter, searching for what was causing the kink in the strands.

   The quick take down had been elongated when the hydra agents had retreated into their base, with no safe way in. The team had chosen Peter and Natasha to be the ones to wait it out, call in for reinforcements once the agents emerged. They couldn,t stay in there for more than a few hours, right? Wrong. 

   Over 14 hours later the yellow and pink haze covering the sky faded behind the snow topped mountains. The darkness was barely moved by the florescent lights lining their tent, and the portable heater was doing about as much to fight off the cold. 

   "Uh- no, that's okay. I've got it." Natasha's calculating stare narrowed at Peter's stuttered words. 

   "You flew in straight from patrols. You barely slept last night. You should get some sleep." Peter only sucked his lips into a stubborn line, shaking his head decidedly. 

   "Not tired yet." They both knew that was a lie. An extra fast metabolism and constant adrenaline pumping through his super-system all day meant that Peter should be completely passed out by now. The kid slept more than the dead, as Tony would jokingly point out when they found him taking power naps in the most random of places. All the same, when found Peter was left alone to get his sleep, because according to Bruce and Tony's superbrains he needed almost twice as much as the average adult. If that wasn't proof enough, the yawns he'd been stifling the last half hour certainly were.

   "Okay kid, cut the crap. What's going on."

   "Don't call me kid." Was the only huffed reply Natasha got, even with her perfected 'I will kill you right now' look coming into play. 

    Natasha completely sure how to react, if she was being honest. Obviously something was wrong, that much she knew, but she'd really only interacted with the kid in one of two ways. Gentle quips as he bounced around the tower- or fierce commands as they fought together in battle. This kid retreating into some sort of emotional shell was nothing like the one she'd know. This was the kind of thing Tony dealt with. He always knew what to do when the kid was shell-shocked after a bad mission. He was the one who went into his room in the middle of the night, even though the others heard the kid waking from his nightmares as well. It was almost impossible to miss the screams that echoes through the tow- oh. 

   Natasha's eyes softened, her body language relaxing. Nightmares. She could deal with nightmares. She sat down beside him on his sleeping bag, crossing her legs and leaning back on her hands. 

   "I used to get nightmares too, ya know."

   "I don't know what you're talking abo-" He cut himself off at the look he gave her, going with a decided shrug instead. He twisted his hands in his lap, eyes staring intently at them. 

    "A lot of us get them. It comes with the job, Peter. Nothing to be ashamed of."

   Still no answer. Natasha picked at a thread coming from the cuff of her pants, really feeling like she was failing at this whole motherly thing. "I got crushed by a building." Or maybe not. 

   Nat looked at him, hiding the sympathy from her eyes, just in case he didn't want that. 

   "I thought I was gonna die. No way to tell anyone where I was, or what happened." His hands were beginning to shake a little and she gently rested one of her own on them. "I got out but... Sometimes when I fall asleep it's like I'm still there, but it's all just a little different. Instead of a building it's Tony. Instead of me it's Aunt May." His voice cracked a little. "I just don't like sleeping anymore."

   Natasha nodded in quiet understanding. "I'm not gonna go anywhere. If you have a nightmare, I'll be right here when you wake up." Peter's lips flicked into what could almost be described as a smile.

   "Okay."   
  

**Author's Note:**

> Should I write a second chapter where he has a nightmare? Let me know in the comments!


End file.
